


In Love And War There Are No Happy Endings

by MatrixDream



Series: Windchill Series [4]
Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alien Cultural Differences, Aliens, Blood, Discrimination, Final fic of this series!, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Kig-Yar, M/M, Married Couple, Polyamorous Character, Trans Character, Xenophilia, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:15:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23917384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MatrixDream/pseuds/MatrixDream
Summary: Master Chief is dead, leaving Thel behind.
Relationships: Caleb/Kafkaf/Zeva/Xolale/Ugini, John-117 | Master Chief/Thel 'Vadam | The Arbiter, OC/OC/OC/OC/OC - Relationship
Series: Windchill Series [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/715377
Comments: 48
Kudos: 89





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be the final fic of the series! Wow, four years tradition! This first chapter is a little bit short but I want to keep up the play Halo in March, write a fic in April tradition I have going (Especially for the last fic). I also still need to plot this out a bit more, college has been a massive pain and I'm not free yet (plus other stuff. It's been one hell of a year) but ah well, I hope you enjoy! This one kind of has some Halo 4 elements, it's still kinda in it's own AU void that is my fanfiction playground, but y'know for world building sake, Halo 4 area.

"The Master Chief is dead." 

The room full of men were dead quiet, all eyes averting from the projector and instead cast their attention on the lone alien in the room. The Arbiter sat in numb shock, looking between the smoldering wreckage on screen and the humans surrounding him. "...You are...certain of his demise?" 

"I know you two were close, but I had the best of the best confirm it. He's gone." The captain of the ship they were currently on shook his head sadly. 

The Arbiter could only huff out in annoyance, "close", that was putting it mildly. "I want to check the wreckage myself, _my husband_ has survived worse." 

"Of course, of course, but you saw the footage yourself, his entire suit combusted, no one could survive that, not even him. We combed the entire battlefield-"

"Can I see his body then?" He interjected, attempting to reel in his stirring emotions. 

"I'm afraid that isn't possible at this time, only _legal_ family would be allowed to see it." The captain continued, shooting him a slight glare for the interruption. "Though I do hope this won't affect the alliance."

Shoving his chair back, he rose to his full height and allowed his annoyance to be shown. "You call me here all the way from Sanghelios, disrespect me and my relationship, unceremoniously announce that my partner is dead, and refuse me the right to properly process and grieve? This was meant to be his last mission, he promised he would join me and he _never_ breaks a promise." 

"Mr. Arbiter, please, we are all very emotional over the loss of the Master Chief. I can sympathize. However, he was getting old, he may have been superhuman, but even he couldn't tell the future. There isn't much we can do, we just thought you should be informed." One of the other men piped up, motioning for him to sit down again. 

"Perhaps we need a moment to breathe and process this new information." Another man said, earning a series of nods. This man seemed vaguely familiar but not enough for him to recall a name. Regardless, the man stood and approached him, respectfully indicating for him to follow. 

The Arbiter was still irritated and battling a rising sense of grief and anxiety, but he followed nonetheless. "I must say I am still in disbelief."

The man nodded, only speaking once they were out of ear shot of the other humans. "I am too. I'm not sure if you know who I am, but I'm an old friend of Master Chief, Thomas Lasky." He somewhat recalled the name and nodded. "This whole thing seems too suspicious. Like you said, this was his final mission and he has survived far worse, also a suit malfunction from fighting the Covenant? I don't buy it."

He agreed fiercely, "We may not be married legally by your human customs, but he has been my husband for 2 years, my partner for three and we have been allies far longer than that. I know him, I also, as you said, do not buy this." 

Thomas dropped his tone even lower, barely audible as he leaned in, "They retrieved Cortana apparently, but that's all I'm authorized to know, no one is allowed to see or speak to her. Something is very wrong." He slipped something into the Sangheili's hand, remaining as inconspicuous as possible. "I managed to get a key card that will grant you authorization. Go find her, find out what happened and if Chief is alive, find him too, but don't bring him back. They won't let you off this ship but I will distract them for you, hurry." 

The Arbiter held the card tightly and began to mimic the human's body language for sadness. He knew they would not pick up on his own species body language so there was no point in faking that, and he could not cry, but he did his best to present devastation and grief. "Thank you, Thomas." 

"Of course. Say hi to your husband for me." Thomas nodded to the Elite, giving a sympathetic pat before turning to the captain who had begun to approach them. "He needs another moment, would I be able to see that footage again? I would like to take notes for the record." 

The Arbiter gradually made his escape out into the hallway as all of the men once again turned to the footage, only picking up his pace as soon as the door had shut. Regarding the key card, it had the numbers 237 and he could only hope that was where Cortana had been sent to. Luckily for him, humans liked to label their things. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thel finds Cortana and recruits her into his search for John, however she is corrupted and never went on the mission with him, leaving her just as confused. They attempt to leave the ship which proves to be difficult between guards and the Covenant attacking but, they managed to escape and embark on their journey in search of John.Thel find himself at the battlefield were his husband has fallen. He and Cortana come across a Kig-Yar who has apparently seen everything and convince her to help them on their mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so freaking long I am so sorry, life has been crazy! I'd like to thank my friend for helping me get unstuck and letting me infodump about Halo stuff despite knowing nothing about it asklhsld also some other friends wanted to be inserted into the fic, so I gave them a brief scene asklhskdl
> 
> My Charbiter Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO7aLTL8RCBh94lBZuSBYLRKAJuZcKZQc
> 
> And my Tumblr for more and different content: https://5amanthus.tumblr.com/

Room 237 was surprisingly unguarded and with the access key, it was laughably easy to get in. Perhaps the luck in the relationship had been transferred to Thel, but he didn't dare tempt fate as he slipped into the room. The coast was still clear but he wasted little time as he made his way over to the console in the room and began typing some of the codes from the access key. With a glitch of blue, the holograph projector booted up and displayed a confused Cortana.

"Thel?" She questioned, her voice grainy and her image glitchy as she seemed to groggily regard him. 

"Hello, Cortana." He greeted, before shooting a glance to the door. Lasky was certainly keeping any pursuers occupied, but it was questionable how much time he could give. 

"Where's John?" She asked, grabbing her head as if she were in pain. 

Thel was clearly confused and concerned, "I was under the assumption you could tell me. I have been told he is dead, but I do not believe it." 

"I...I, don't know. I never went on that mission with him, I've been glitching too much, but the thing is, I wasn't this bad before the mission, I don't know what happened." Still glitching, she looked around her. "Can you get me out of this console? I can try to dig around and find out where he was sent." 

"Of course." He responded, disengaging the hologram and disconnecting her chip from the device, plugging it into his own armour. It had been her idea for him to get a port for her installed, it certainly had been good foresight. 

As soon as she was connected, she sighed with relief, her glitching seemingly improving. "That's better." She stretched dramatically. "We need to get out of here. Start walking and I'll start searching." 

He nodded, carefully exiting the room and beginning to head towards the docking bay, intent on reaching his ship. A few soldiers looked at him as he passed but so far none had made a move to stop him.

“Wait, I’m detecting Covenant ships.” Cortana informed him right as the entire ship shook and went on red alert. 

“Are you certain it is the Covenant? I believed them to be too dispersed to orchestrate an attack on a ship this large.” He said, leaning against the wall to regain his balance before breaking out into a run. Now it was all the more impertinent for him to reach his ship. 

“Just stupid I guess.” She replied, along for the ride as she kept an eye on the enemy life signs. They were trying to board the ship. “Lucky for us it’s a perfect distraction.”

A small group of soldiers seemed to be headed in the same direction, getting in the lead before taking point behind a barricade, prepared for the impending attack. 

One of the soldiers looked behind him and spotted the ally alien. “Hey, it’s the Arbiter.” 

“Really the Arbiter? _Thanks_ , we had no clue, _Pedro_.”

"You're welcome, Max." 'Pedro' responded, smiling before getting into position as someone ran down the hall, just narrowly missing the bullet shot from his gun. "Oh shit, is that one of ours guys, I can't tell?"

"Get some glasses, you shoot more of our guys than the Covenant, if I weren't human I'd go join them, team killer." 'Max' shook his head, shooting an actual Covenant soldier. 

"Bold of you to assume joining the Covenant would protect you from me." Pedro said, shooting two aliens in response. "Badabing! Top that!" 

The Arbiter rolled his eyes at the antics of the human soldiers as they quickly delved into a competition over who could shoot the most aliens. 

“We need to get around them to get to the ship.” Cortana pointed out, crossing her arms as she watched the growing battle between the humans and aliens. “You have to get through somehow.”

”How many Covenant life signs?”

”Four currently—make that three—fighting. A group of five coming down the hall.” 

“Hmm.” At that rate the humans were killing the Covenant, they would never escape. With a sigh he brandished his sword and jumped over the blockade, plunging his energy blade into the nearest Brute. The other Covenant soldiers seemed panicked by his presence but some continued to fight. He made work of them, slashing through the remaining enemies as more made their way into the battle. A bullet ricocheted off of his armour.

”Nice going, Max! You just shot the Arbiter. Who’s the team killer now?”

”I didn’t kill him, look, he’s fine, but it still counts, I’ve hit more aliens than you.” 

“We’ll just see about that.”

The ensuing argument was lost as the Arbiter turned down another hallway and continued towards the docking bay. A group of Grunts greeted him with weapons around another corner. He dodged bullets, sliced through bodies, feeling the thrill of battle and the pump of his hearts as the final enemy fell. 

"You're not done yet, three more up ahead." Cortana warned, right as then went through a door leading to three Jiralhanae. "Brutes. Great." 

"You do not believe I can match them?" The Arbiter questioned as one ran at him.

"I know you can, they just take longer to kill." She answered, watching her ally battle through the last enemies keeping them from his ship and from finding John. However, before she could make anymore witty commentary, her A.I began to break down and she released a yelp as she glitched.

The sound startled the Arbiter and he winced as static made his head ache before he was punched by the Brute he was fighting. It hurt, but at least he had been knocked a decent distance away, enough to safely assess his injuries and her. "Cortana, are you alright?" He demanded, shaking his head. 

"I-I-I'm f-f-f-in-e-e. _I'm fine_." She took a deep virtual breath and she stabilized. "Sorry about that, are you okay?" He nodded before looking around the pillar he used as coverage. "Good, then get to the ship."

"Alright." He answered, pointedly letting his hand be just the slightest bit visible around his cover.

"Got you now." One of the Brutes said, making a grab for him, but missing as he spun around the opposite way, getting behind the other alien and using his energy sword to remove the beast's head. Its comrades had no time to properly react as he dropped his sword and picked up the gun it dropped, shooting the remaining enemies dead. 

She synthesized a whistling sound as he picked up his sword and ran to his ship, keeping his sights averted every which way in case they missed any enemies. They seemed to be clear and he shut the door behind him, but had yet to relax, having long since learned to keep his eye out for hidden Unggoy. 

"No enemy life signs." Cortana made sure to clarify, receiving a nod for her efforts as her new companion got into the pilot seat and took off. 

Regardless they weren't out of enemy reach yet, as as soon as his ship breached through the barrier and left the human vessel, he was fired upon by other alien ships still waiting to dock. Dodging blaster fire, he shot a few rounds back, but mostly focused on escape. As much as his instincts demanded he stay and fight, to protect the humans, well, he couldn't. If the Master Chief is really dead, they would need to learn to take care of themselves without him anyway. And right now, there were more personal things to focus on. 

* * *

"Stop here, these are the battle coordinates." Cortana piped up, prompting the Arbiter to stop as they both looked down into the canyon they stood on the edge of. "...That looks exactly like a trap."

"My thoughts exactly." He responded, seeing the blackened and burned ground where an explosion had clearly gone off. There were so many vantage points up here, his husband could have been attacked from any direction. 

"Are we going down there then?" She asked, keeping her sensors as expanded as she could. 

"If we want to find John, I am afraid we must." He said, taking one more good look around before carefully beginning to descend.

"Well, it was nice knowing you." She sighed, despite the fact she was along for the ride whether she liked it or not. That at least kept her scanners searching for any detection of enemy life signs, but there were none to be found. Everything was so strangely quiet, peaceful even. It only set her on edge. "Shit, I see blood."

"I do too." He replied, jumping down the rest of the way before crouching by the stain. Splatters of blood lead to it and the ground was charred nearby, pieces of shrapnel scattered around. 

Cortana made a humming sound. "That's a lot of blood, but not enough to kill him. Unless he had internal bleeding..."

"Regardless, there is no evidence of a body and the UNSC did not appear to have him in their possession."

"Wait, look at that." She brought his attention over to some disturbed dirt. It looked as if something had been dragged, something larger than whatever had been dragging it.

"Those look like Unggoy foot prints..." The Arbiter said, beginning to inspect further.

"Enemy life sign!" Cortana quickly cried, interrupting him, but he reacted immediately, jumping out of the clearing as a plasma bullet burned itself into the ground. "Sniper!"

Rolling to cover, he ducked around and squinted around the top of the canyon. He spotted movement and the metallic shine of a gun just off to his left. There was a blaster nearby, not the most effective weapon, but his sword could not do much at this range, so he picked it up. He focused his aim, getting the Sniper in his sights before lowering just a fraction and shooting. The unstable ground crumbled beneath the enemy's feet and they began to fall, before catching a hold of the ledge, but dropped the sniper as they did so. 

"It's a Jackal." She informed him as he hurdled over his cover and made a break up the canyon, while the Kig-Yar struggled to climb up. 

They managed to gain their balance and pull themself up, breaking out into a sprint just as he managed to reach the top of the canyon. He chased after them, shooting at the other alien's feet, causing them to trip and fall. The Kig-Yar squawked and tried scramble away as he approached and pressed his blade to their throat, which released a series of sounds he could not understand. 

"I can translate for you." Cortana said, "Hmm, let's see. 'Expletive, expletive, expletive, aahh the Arbiter, expletive, don't kill me, expletive'. Alright, calm down, what's your name?"

The Kig-Yar seemed to fight for just a moment longer before sagging and answering. "Qaz."

"Nice to meet you, Qaz. Did you see what happened here?" Cortana projected herself, and pointed down to the canyon. 

Qaz mumbled and chittered, seeming to contemplate whether to answer or not. "Unggoy. Take. Demon." 

That piqued the Arbiter's interest. "Where? Did you see where they went? Can you take us there?" 

The Jackal shook and made more sounds, prompting Cortana to elaborate. "She says she did see where they went, but she can't leave, she came back here to find her partner, they got separated." 

"Qaz, I am also looking for my partner. The Demon, Master Chief, he is my mate." He explained, sheathing his sword and holding out his hand to her. "Please, I require your aid to find him." 

She still seemed unsure, looking around and chattering, once again prompting Cortana to speak up, but this time to her. "What if we left a communication beacon for your partner? Once we find the Chief, we're headed to Sanghelios, I assume, so you can tell your partner to meet you there." 

She still hesitated, looking at the A.I and hand extended to her. The Demon's spirit companion and the Arbiter...She knew of their reputations, this was the best deal she could hope for. They were determined and they weren't going to take no for an answer. So, she took the Sangheili's hand. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks y'all for all the comments!! Definitely helps me get motivated to write this!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> John wakes up confused, in a room filled with aliens and he finds out Caleb has rescued him and they discuss what has happened. Caleb sends one of his partners, Zeva 'Rapo to Sanghelios to send a message to The Arbiter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all like my doctor, cause he's back aslkhdaklshkl
> 
> https://5amanthus.tumblr.com/post/628214322905169920/im-trying-to-do-doodle-pages-more-often-im  
> Also I doodled my OC with some Charbiter stuff and other doodles

He felt something cold and damp press against his forehead. The sensation had his nose scrunching up in response and he attempted to lift his hand to brush it away. He didn't succeed, but the movement itself earned a startled yelp right near his head. The sound snapped through his grogginess and he opened his eyes, spotting a Grunt right beside him. Their eyes met and the Unggoy again yelled out in surprise. 

"The Demon has arisen!" It cried, already beginning to run as he attempted to sit up. 

Chief's entire body protested, but his heart raced and his eyes looked around wildly at his surroundings. He was in a strange room, it looked like a tent, but he didn't care too much for the details; only that the room was barren, besides the bed he was on. Nothing to use as a weapon and his armour was missing, meaning he was completely vulnerable. In this condition, maybe he could kill an Unggoy with his bare hands, but before that could truly come to fruition, the alien was out of the room and two large Hunters took its place at the door. They were definitely armoured and armed, their shields slamming down and guns trained on him, blocking any hope for escape.

Regardless, he was determined not to go down this way, and they had yet to shoot. There was still nothing in the room, but he did have the bed. If he were fast enough, he may be able to flip it over and use it as a cover. The plasma could go through it, as he didn't know how thick the bedding was, but it was better than nothing and would at least block him from their view. Likely one of them would begin to try to flank him to get a better shot or check if they had hit him, which would leave an opening that he may just get lucky enough to slip through. What was outside this tent, he did not know, but his main concern was to get out of here. 

"It's alright, stand down." A somewhat familiar voice cut through his train of thought. He continued to assess the situation, watching as a short, humanoid figure slipped between the two hulking aliens. "You two are freaking him out, please wait outside." A man looked up pleadingly to the Mgalekgolo, placing a gentle hand on their arms, which prompted them to exit, leaving the two humans alone. Once they were out of sight, the man turned to him. "Chief, I'm going to walk towards you slowly. No one is going to hurt you, but I need to check on your bandages."

"...I know you." He said, trying to place a name to the face. 

"Oh, you're talking, that's a good sign then!" The man responded, slowly beginning to approach him. "It's me, Caleb, the medic that treated you on that backwater colony and in the UNSC facility. We keep running into each other a lot huh. Almost like some author in the sky keeps crossing our paths. They must love me, I guess." The writer does love him, but he will never know. "But anyway, I'm sorry for that awful wake up call, that was totally my bad. You've been out for a while now and I got busy treating other patients, we honestly didn't expect you to wake up yet, so I thought it would be fine for Kafkaf to treat you, and I'm talking too much, sorry. What do you say we play 20 questions? You've definitely got some and I've definitely got some." 

"Where am I?" Chief asked, his anxiety slowly dissipating at the explanation and somewhat familiar company. 

"That is a fantastic question! I actually have no idea." Caleb responded, unfolding a chair and sitting down in front of the bed. "It's just a little planet we came across and set up camp at. I've been calling it Medical Planet 69, but it's honestly just the middle of nowhere." Then he pulled out a sheet. "Now, my question. On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain? And be honest, I can't help you if you lie."

"Eight." The Spartan answered, grimacing.

"Oof, that's a lot, I'll get you some pain killers." He said, before turning and shouting for pain killers through the tent flap. The Unggoy from before came running in, before pausing once seeing the 'Demon'. "Is it okay if he comes in?" He asked, looking between the alien and other human. 

Chief only shrugged, but stared the Grunt down, who hesitantly entered. "Where is my armour?"

"Getting repaired. I don't know what you were doing, but your armour got fucked up. We're doing what we can to patch it up, but I only have limited knowledge on Spartan armour and we only have limited supplies." The medic responded, before reminding the Unggoy how to administer the medication. "Kafkaf is actually the one who found you and brought you here."

"I help Demon! So, Demon no hurt me, please!" Kafkaf replied, keeping as much distance between himself and the Spartan as possible, while still being helpful. 

Chief still continued to watch the alien, but slightly turned to speak to Caleb again. "What have you been doing?" 

"Since our last meeting? Oh, a _lot_." He chuckled sheepishly. "I guess you can say I've been collecting boyfriends." Reaching out his hand, the Unggoy took it. "This is my first boyfriend, Kafkaf. We met during that big battle on the Colony. He's an ex-Covenant soldier now and we've traveled around, hopping from ship to ship, healing the wounded, collecting supplies. He's actually really smart, he picks up on this medical stuff so quickly, even taught me a few things." He explained, before indicating to the two Mgalekgolo outside. "Those two are Ugini and Xolale Nera of the Fusa lineage, you don't have to remember all that though, Ugini and Xolale is fine. They were rogue before we came across them, but Xolale was dying and I managed to save him. They've both been attached to me ever since." He rambled for a bit before shaking his head, "But what about you? What happened to you?" 

Chief looked off, grimacing. "I was on my final mission. It was just supposed to be a supply run but, clearly it was a trap."

"Do you know who set it up?"

He seemed to debate for a moment, before answering. "I have my suspicions. I think it was-"

"Medical supplies have been topped off, we are a somewhat low on food but I sent out some scavengers to look for more." Another alien suddenly walked into the room, cutting him off. "Oh, I apologize, I did not realize you were occupied."

"Oh!" Caleb clapped excitedly, gesturing to the Sangheili. "And this is my fourth, and last, boyfriend! Zeva 'Rapo. He gets kind of squeamish around medical supplies still, but he's great help. And at least having a doctor for a boyfriend convinces him to be more careful and not get hurt, eh, 'Rapo?" 

Chief didn't even properly process the name, as the presence of the Sangheili reminded him of something. He began attempting to get out of bed, the medic instantly freaked out trying to stop him. "Thel, he could be in danger." He supplied, waving away the other human and continued to try to get up. 

Caleb tried to push the much larger man back down but he was unsuccessful. "What are you talking about? You are in no condition to get up or do anything, lay back down right now, we don't have enough supplies for me to repatch you up. _Lay down_." At his insisting, his two boyfriend's in the room came over to help, trying to coax the Spartan into staying down. 

" _The Arbite_ r, my husband! I have to warn him, his life could be in danger." Chief said urgently, continuing to struggle. He really was in no condition to do anything but something had to be done.

"Hey, hey, alright, okay, lay back down, we'll handle it." Caleb replied, trying to placate the distressed man. "Zeva can go to Sanghelios and warn the Arbiter. We'll get him updated on everything and let him know where to find you, okay? You just have to rest up and heal, okay? Does that sound like a plan?" He asked, his only answer being the other human settling down just a fraction, so he turned to his Sangheili partner. "How soon can you leave?"

"Right away." Zeva responded, nodding to his boyfriends. "This planet is a battlefield wasteland, I found a working ship." 

"Alright, stay safe." His human partner said, clasping their hands and giving him a hug before he quickly turned to depart. "And _you_ ," The medic pointed to the Spartan. "You need to rest." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments!! Honestly they really motivate me to keep working on this series and I am so happy so many people love it, it means a lot to me ^_^


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thel makes steady progress with the irritated Kig-Yar, however Cortana's glitches are getting worse and she reveals she is dying but wants to continue and find John before she does. Thel refuses to let her die though and they set aside their mission to get her help. 
> 
> Zeva 'Rapo informs them that The Arbiter is out looking for John, but he has left a message regardless. John is distressed and wants to find his husband and Cortana, but Caleb needs him to heal then they will head to Sanghelios. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end!! Three chapters left!! I start a new job tomorrow and it's full time, so I'm going to be super busy! Wish me luck y'all!
> 
> Also, if there's anything y'all want to see in this fic before the series ends, please let me know and I'll try to incorporate it!! I do have stuff planned already, but I want this to be as satisfying of an ending as it can be! Also I'm not doing any smut for this fic, just cause I'm not really feeling it, haha. I'm ace and bad at writing smut, so I'd rather not write too much of it. But I do have one other Charbiter fic planned that has at least one chapter with it! Anyway! Thanks y'all!!

"Bank left, watch your flank!" Cortana instructed as the ship bobbed, avoiding gunfire. "Qaz, plug me into the console!" She instructed, as the Arbiter was too busy flying the ship to do anything else. The Kig-Yar was just their navigation.

Qaz did as told, taking the A.I's chip and attempting to plug it in but it didn't fit, so she flipped it again and tried once more, but ran into the same problem, before returning to the original orientation and successfully plugging the chip in. "In."

"I'm onlining the guns, Arbiter turn the ship so I can get a good aim on them!" Cortana said, earning a nod and her wishes complied with, giving her the opportunity to lock on target and destroy the enemy ship. "Got 'em!" Regardless, she kept her sensors fine tuned for any more ships or blaster fire, but there were none. Only debris and a few minor damages to their own ship. 

"Is everyone alright?" The Arbiter asked, sitting back and taking a breather as the rush of adrenaline took its course. 

The Kig-Yar nodded, so Cortana responded, "All good, but we've lost the plasma trail from the ship Qaz saw Chief taken in." 

"We must check the following planets then." He said, gesturing to a small solar system in their trajectory, causing the two women to groan in exhaustion.

They had already spent days searching the galaxy, trying to find remnants of the ship they were following. They had just been lucky enough to get a small signature, but had ended up running into a scavenging ship that decided they were a good target and the ensuing battle completely covered up the trail they had uncovered. Which set them back to square one, spending another few days searching the current solar system they were in, with absolutely no results. 

"This is hopeless, and I have been in some _serious'y hopeless_ situations." Cortana sighed, her A.I flickering. "I would almost rather battle the entire Covenant _myself_ than search one more barren planet. At least then I would have some visible progress." 

Qaz flinched at the Covenant comment, before perking up, beginning to squawk and babble excitedly. "Planet! Qaz know planet!" She said, continuing to gesture and utter, much to the confusion of her current company.

"Slow down, slow down." The A.I said, trying to translate what she was saying. "She says, she knows of a planet in this sector. It's a bit of a trip, but it's a Covenant wasteland, filled with abandoned battlefields and ships. If whoever took Chief is still in this part of the galaxy, that's the place she think they would go...I think it's worth a shot."

* * *

"The Arbiter is not on Sanghelios." 'Rapo said, causing a clear stir between the two human men. "I have left a message, but it would appear he is out looking for you." He indicated to the Spartan. 

Chief began to sit up, but his doctor once again tried to get him to lay back down. "He's searching for me, I have to find him!"

"You aren't doing anything until you're better. You may be superhuman, but you are still human, so eat your food and take a nap, doctors orders. Don't make me use my authority tone, and _please_ , do not use a stern voice with me, I will probably cry." Caleb responded, muttering the last bit under his breath. 

The much larger man pushed his hand away and sat up, but didn't try to get up at least. "Caleb, he's my husband, I have to find him, and I have to find Cortana as well, she wasn't with me on my mission."

He placed a hand on the other human's shoulder. "I get it, okay, I'm sorry. If I could snap my fingers and cure you right now, I would, but your body needs to heal, and you're lucky enough that it'll heal fast. _If you let it_. Zeva left a message and once you're healed up, we're headed right to Sanghelios. He has to go back there at some point and he's a bad ass alien warrior, he can take care of himself. So, focus on _you,_ everything else will be figured out or can wait." 

"You're right, but-"

"Thank you." He cut any further argument off, sighing with relief, before giving the Spartan a stern look. "But I'm not taking Xolale and Ugini off guard duty, I'm not stupid."

Chief crossed his arms, but nodded. "Fair enough."

"Good, now lay down and rest." Caleb instructed as he stood up, waggling his finger at the other man before turning and leaving the medical tent with his boyfriend. 

"Are you alright?" Zeva asked once they were far enough away.

Caleb shook his head, learning forward and pressing his hands to his knees, breathing deeply. "You're absolutely positive the Arbiter wasn't on Sanghelios?"

"Yes, I even spoke with Rtas 'Vadum myself, who is temporary Arbiter until the return of the true Arbiter." The Sangheili responded, placing a hand to his back. 

"What if I fucked up? What if the Arbiter is dead in a ditch somewhere?" He said, trying to breath through his rising panic. 

"Dead in a ditch?" Zeva questioned with a tilt of his head.

The human waved the comment away. "Old human expression. Point is, what if he's dead? I'm spewing all this positive, 'get well soon', 'worry about yourself' bullshit, but oh fuck, he could be dying as we speak. I might have just basically lied to the Master Chief. Aaah, this does not feel great." 

"You doubt the might of my species?" He replied with a slight air of offence. 

Again, the shake of the head. "No, no, of course not. But I do worry about the wraith of life. It can be so cruel and those two have been through a _lot_. I just hope they get a happy ending. If they don't, I quit. I don't know what I'll quit, but I'll quit." Caleb exhaled, shaking his head again but this time at himself. "Fuck me."

"You are clearly distressed, I do not believe that would be appropriate right now." His boyfriend responded.

He couldn't help releasing a little laugh, deciding not to correct himself or mention the human expression. "I fucking love you." He chuckled, the small amount of mirth managing to chase away his anxiety enough for him to stand up straight again. 

Kafkaf came running from one of the medical tents. "Caleb! Caleb! You are urgently needed!" 

"Thank you!" The man called to his smallest boyfriend, before turning to the Sangheili. "We're getting low on food rations, but one of the patients mentioned seeing some animals running around. Would you like to go hunting?"

Zeva 'Rapo visibly lit up at the chance to do something more physical. "Gladly!" He responded, giving the man a firm hug before turning to leave. 

Caleb did the same, running over to his Unggoy partner, who briefed him on the patient's vitals as they walked.

* * *

"We're about a day away from that planet, why don't you take a rest Arbiter? You've been flying for a while." Cortana spoke up, directing his attention to the sleeping Kig-Yar. "I can probably fly for a while, we're in the all clear for now."

The Arbiter seemed to hesitate, looking between the vast expansion of stars and space before him and the small sleeping area. "I suppose that would be best." He slowly agreed, still debating in his head before settling. "Thank you." However, he took another pause, noticing her holoform flicker again, but he made no comment as he got up, flipping the ship to autopilot so she could take control. 

She noticed him notice and brushed it off. "Everything's fine, I've got it under contro-" Before she could finish that sentence, her entire A.I _rippled_. The only warning she got before her coding and image were ripping each other apart, turning her into a mess of screaming static and bursting colours, her form fading in and out and the ship shook.

The Arbiter quickly flicked the controls back to manual, steadying the ship himself and disengaging her from the console. With her power more condensed, she was able to get herself back in order, her hologram breathing heavily despite the lack of need for air. "Cortana, what is happening?"

She lifted her finger, indicating for him to give her a moment as she settled herself, before heaving a great sigh. "I'm dying." He gaped in surprise, and she noticed the Jackal was also paying attention, clearly being startled awake by the commotion. "But it doesn't matter, I want to find John. We need to find him before I completely break down, I want to say goodbye at least." 

"No." He responded.

"No??" She questioned, quickly becoming defensive. "You're going to deny my dying wish?"

"No. I will not let you die." He began turning the ship around, throwing them off their course and setting a new one. 

"Wh-what are you doing!?" She spluttered, attempting to take back control of the ship, but too weak to do so. 

"I know of an ancient Forerunner base with technology that may be able to restore your A.I. My people have used it for years."

"But, John could be right here! He could be a day away and you're going to throw us off for days! Maybe weeks! _MONTHS_!" She tried to protest, but he was having none of it. 

"If he is alive, he will be waiting for us regardless. I will not return you to him dying. I will not mar our reunion with death." He said, determination written all over his face. It was a look she knew well.

Cortana opened her mouth to speak, before shutting it and smiling. "I knew I liked you. You're just like him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments!! It means so much to me!! I'm so happy people like Caleb ^-^
> 
> ((Also technically if enough people want a fic with Caleb or some of my OCs, there maybe be one or two more fics in this series, but they would be less Chief/Arbiter focused. But I am definitely not done with Chief/Arbiter either! I have one more fic planned with that that's a totally different AU. And I also have them as a background ship in a niche Destiny/Halo crossover fic I'm doing. I only have one chapter out of that one, but will get back on it eventually))


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taking a break, Thel sleeps and dreams of cuddling his husband and how John proposed with Cortana watching over the Kig-Yar, who she gets to know a little better. Once they are ready to proceed, they find a Covenant artifact that can help her. It will take time, but Thel also spends some time with Qaz. 
> 
> John has healed the best he can, so they head to Sanghelios knowing it will only be a waiting game. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left y'all holy shit, and then this series is done, aahh! (I might do an OC fic or two since people seem to enjoy Caleb :) and again, I do have other Halo fics planned, but yeah, last fic of this part of the series, whoo!!) Also I'm not sure if like Sangheili proposal culture was ever covered? I dug around in the wikia a bit but couldn't find anything, and I hope I didn't accidentally copy anyone, but I just made one up.

“Thel...Thel...”

The Arbiter was startled awake by the sound of his name being called and a soft, tickling sensation on his shoulder. He grumbled and shifted, hearing a chuckle behind him and that same sensation. 

“Having a good sleep?” The was John’s voice, which prompted him to sit up and look behind himself.

“John? When did you get here? You were missing.” Thel questioned, confused and hesitant to get his hopes up.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been here all night.” John responded, causing his husband to look around. 

The Arbiter recognized this room, it wasn’t the ship, and he began to recognize the memory too. “Ah, so this is a dream then.”

“Come on, time to get up, we have a mission.” His husband said, tapping him on the leg and getting up. 

“Even in my dreams I cannot avoid my duty.” He sighed halfheartedly, wishing to stay with his partner just a little while longer, even as just a figment of his sleeping mind. So, he took a hold of the man’s hand like he had once before, dragging his husband back down onto the bed. There was no fight and the human embraced him the second they were both on the bed again. 

“I love you and I promise I will find you.” He said, gently running his hands down his partner’s face. 

“I love you too.” John leaned down and kissed the Sangheili’s forehead, before laying down on his alien’s chest, who held him tightly, wishing to never let him go. “But we have to get up.”

“I know.” He sighed, finally letting his husband go, knowing that what was to come next would be worth getting up for, unless his mind decided to deviate from the memory, but he refused to let it. 

The Spartan took his hand, helping him up. He took one long look at his human, having already memorized every detail but doing it all again before they both helped each other put on their respective armour. 

His mind glazed through the rest, the ride there, the exploring, the ensuing battles, only pausing on the particularly noteworthy kills when his boyfriend at the time had looked particularly glorious.

And then they were there, in the final room, with a Brute that he vaguely recognized from his trial, one of the ones that had been dragging him along. His anger had originally blinded him to all the clues but he and his partner slew the Brute together. And then it happened. 

Rather than them securing some objective, Chief pulled out an energy sword and cut their enemy's head off, presenting it to his partner. The Sangheili had been speechless, and then he produced photos of Tartarus, the Hierarchs, every slain enemy of his, and laid them carefully around the room. The Spartan’s knees wobbled, he had later been informed the man was fighting the instinct to get down on one knee, a human custom, but for a Sangheili proposal the intender had to stand strong and proud. 

“I did my research.” Chief started, laying his weapon down at his intended’s feet. This was when Thel had realized, the man who had been his enemy, his ally, his friend, his lover and his boyfriend was now declaring himself as mate. “I could not help you kill your greatest enemy, as we have either killed them all individually or together as allies. So I tracked down the last living alien involved in your shaming. I hope these are enough.” The human said, waiting for his answer.

Thel of the past had stood wide eyed and gobsmacked, before collecting himself. “It is more than enough.” He answered, bowing and retrieving the weapon and returning it to his now fiancé, grinning. “You are aware to seal this we must battle?”

“Yes.” Chief answered, raising his sword and his partner doing the same. 

“Rise and shine sleeping beauty.” A female voice said, truly startling him awake.

“Cortana?” Thel questioned.

“Must have been some dream, sorry to wake you but we’re here.” She answered, smiling down at him softly.

“I was dreaming of his proposal.” He said as he got up and stretched. His body always got stiff whenever he sat or laid down for long periods but it was getting worse in his older age. Stretching his arm out, he looked at the ring on one of his fingers. It was a human marriage custom, his ring was silver, made from John’s old dog tags. He had a matching ring made from the remaining piece of Thel’s old gold armour.

She smiled wider, “I remember that. I actually have it recorded too if you want to watch it again.”

“I would enjoy that greatly but first we must get you healed.”

“Sounds good to me.” She said before turning to Qaz. “I guess girl bonding time will have to wait. I’d love to hear more about you after. But first let me land, cause this guy crashes all the time just like his husband.” She gave a small smirk to the alien, who rolled his eyes, while she gracefully landed the ship. “Alright, let’s go.”

He disengaged the A.I from the console and plugged her into his own suit for safe keeping, the three of them leaving the ship.

Qaz made a whistling sound as she looked at the large building, clearly astounded by the ancient but still advanced technology. 

“Haven’t seen much of the galaxy without a gun in your hand, huh?” Cortana commented, receiving a shake of the head in response. The Arbiter plugged her into a nearby port and her form rippled. “Well, enjoy the sights, apparently this is going to take about five hours.”

“No time to waste then.” He said, receiving a nod before her A.I disengaged and connected with the system, rebuilding and improving her coding.

He sat back against a pillar, giving a gentle sigh as he got comfortable for the wait. He played with the idea of taking a nap, but this was unfamiliar territory with possible danger at every corner. Qaz could also wander off, get lost, or attacked, and currently she was the closest to a guide they had. As much as it hurt to deviate from the search for his husband, he knew in the end it was necessary to preserve Cortana’s life.

“Arbiter hearts are crying.” Qaz suddenly spoke up in very rough English, sitting down beside him.

He did not attempt to hide his melancholy, having long since learned that emotions were not a weakness but a gift. “I miss my mate.”

“Qaz heart crying too, Qaz mate.” She said, nodding her head knowingly.

He sighed and leaned back. “We will find them, both of them, and be reunited with our partners.”

* * *

"A Grunt, an Elite, two Hunters. Would you ever date a Brute?" Chief asked, touching his toes.

"No fucking way, I like my limbs intact, thank you very much." Caleb said, sitting back on the medical bed and watching the Spartan's vitals.

"A Jackal?" Kafkaf questioned from where he was sitting on the floor.

"Fuck no, they looking like a chicken who's been raised on nothing but drugs."

"Not even if they have good personality?" He continued.

"I mean, if you could find one with ten or more teeth, that doesn't look like they're going to suck out my essence, and they were nice, I could consider dating a crack cocaine chicken." Caleb answered, before shaking his head and getting up from the bed. “But anyway, I'm being distracted. Now tilt your head up," He instructed, the other man complying. "Good, to the right, and now left, turn it back now, y'all. Haha, sorry, okay, down, perfect. Now lift your arms up, down, stretch, yup there you go, and now your legs too. Perfect! Now do the hokey pokey.” He received a look and laughed. “Okay, fair enough. What about a backflip?”

“Really?” The Spartan responded incredulously, but had a small smile.

“As your doctor it is imperative I see you do a backflip to proper asses you health and make sure you don’t flop over dead the second I take my eyes off of you.” Caleb responded, crossing his arms and nodding. 

Chief huffed out a chuckle and shook his head, but complied, bracing himself before doing a backflip and landing perfectly.

The medic jumped up and cheered, clapping loudly. "I can't believe I just got the Master Chief to do a backflip, this is the best day of my life, I wish I could do a backflip, please teach me." 

"It is not that impressive." Zeva said from where he was leaning against the doorway. He fully entered the room and did two backflips, then a front flip, and a few other flips, really showing off. His boyfriend laughed but clapped loudly for him as well, whistling. 

"Very attractive, babe, you're so talented!" He patted the Sangheili on the back and leaned up to give him a quick kiss, before turning to the other man. "Now! Chief, I think you're in good enough health for us to get going." He said, then looked to his boyfriend. "So! Load up the gay bitch mobile and let's go on an adventure!" He declared, much to the confusion of everyone else in the room. "The ship. Please get the ship ready to depart to Sanghelios." 

The Sangheili and Unggoy made sounds of understanding, before nodding and leaving the room to begin packing up the camp. He watched them go, smiling before turning back to his patient.

"You're really happy. It's good." Chief pointed out, smiling as well.

"How can I not be when I've got a great job, traveling around the universe, healing the sick, got four rocking hot boyfriends who are super into me, do you remember when I said aliens were weird? Wow, I've changed a lot." Caleb chuckled, shaking his head. "You really inspired me, man. I heard so many rumours about you and the Arbiter and I thought it was so fucking weird, but then I saw you two together and just, _being_. And the stuff people were saying was the same kinda shit that's been said about me. It just really opened things up for me. I was stupid depressed. I'd been stuck on that backwater colony for five years, surrounded by bigots who didn't understand a thing about me and then there you were, everything to lose, just loving him and him loving you." He sighed happily before continuing. "And then I met Kafkaf, he was scared and hurt and I could help him, so I did. I decided to stop letting the expectations of other dictate my actions, and I helped him. And then I left, I got off that fucking planet, and the world just opened right up! I was surrounded by aliens on Rtas's ship, traveling the universe and I thought it was going to be scary, and it was! It was! But it was also so freeing! As weird as I thought aliens were, they are great! I could just be me. I didn't have to worry about going into the shower and getting questions about my chest scars, cause everyone's covered in scars! And they don't know shit about what's going on for humans down there, so they aren't staring or making comments about my junk. It was so comfortable." Then he laughed, "Actually, this is way later, but still relevant. Zeva actually asked me about my medical scars, which made me nervous, cause how do I explain myself to an alien? But I told him, I told him what was up, and he was squicked out by the medical part of it, which, totally understandable, but he was also _so_ impressed, he said 'You have been in battle with your own body and you have won, you have the scars to prove it.' and that's just so weirdly comforting, I still think about it if I get low self-esteem about my chest." He shook his head, "Sorry, huge ramble, but yeah, I'm happy, and I want to thank you for that."

"Of course." The Spartan responded, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "You are valid."

He released a sound between a giggle and a sob, quickly wiping away the tears forming under his goggles. "Thanks, that's amazing to hear from you." Then he coughed and opened up the tent flap. "But uh, yeah, we should get going, don't want to keep your husband waiting too long. To Sanghelios we go!" 

Chief nodded, getting up and patting the smaller human's shoulder again, before helping load up the ship. And they took off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments y'all, they mean a lot and help me get motivation to write!
> 
> https://5amanthus.tumblr.com/post/628736830074961920/haruspis-master-chief-said-trans-rights-are-human Master Chief said trans rights!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between intel from the Kig-Yar and their own knowledge, Thel and Cortana figure out that it was the UNSC that had attempted to put John out of commission. This only makes them more desperate to find John and they decide to head to Sanghelios to get some back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not my longest chapter, but oh well. Sorry for the long wait, life has just been so busy aaaahhhh. I got a job which took up like all my time, then things went /bad/, so I got a new job and again have been super busy, but yay, one more chapter to go!

It had been _hours_ and Thel was drifting in and out of sleep despite himself. He didn’t feel safe, even with Qaz keeping watch, but his body had other plans. That is until Cortana suddenly materialized, startling him awake.

“Enemy life signatures!” She announced, causing the two aliens to roll to cover right as the plasma blasts started coming, burning into walls and the ground. 

Thel’s energy blade activated and he tossed a blaster to Qaz. She caught it and began shooting, giving him cover as he began to get closer. A Grunt mistakenly ran past him and he sliced through the methane tank, causing the soldier to scream and go flying into a small group, blowing them all up. Qaz managed to shoot a few more Grunts before pausing, perking up.

“What are you doing? Get to cover!” He yelled.

Instead she released a loud squawk and then everything went quiet. She received an answering call from the other side of the battlefield. In response the blaster fire completely stopped and aliens began emerging from their cover.

Thel looked to Cortana, who smiled.

“It’s Qaz’s partner.” She said, watching as the aforementioned Jackal jumped over a fallen column and jumped into the arms of another, the two aliens chattering at each other.

Only then did Thel slowly begin to stand, keeping his movements slow. Regardless, the barrels of guns still followed him, but none took a shot. With his presence, the Kig-Yar Qaz held turned to him and began speaking.

“He says he knows you.” Cortana translated. “His name is Que and he knows where Chief is!”

Thel’s entire demeanour shifted and he perked up. “Is he alive?”

Que continued speaking and Cortana kept translating. “Que’s team was tipped off about a mission with a defenceless Master Chief. They went to take the bait, however both parties were attacked. It had been a trap and there was an explosion that wounded many of them. He says a group of alien doctors came and saved everyone. A...Grunt? A Grunt doctor apparently found Chief. Que was separated from Qaz because he was wounded and she wasn’t.”

“Where was everyone taken?” Cortana asked.

“A Covenant wasteland just a few planets away.” She continued for him as he pointed in in the direction they had diverted from to save her. “He doesn’t know where they are going but the human doctor let him return to his fleet to find Qaz.”

“Wait, human doctor? What did they look like? Did you get a name?” She asked, before looking to Thel as she received an answer. “Caleb.”

The Sangheili sighed with relief. “But now we must figure out where they have gone.”

“And we need to know who is trying to kill Chief and set these guys up!” Cortana said but stopped when a Grunt produced a piece of bomb shrapnel from the battle and showed it to them.

“Oh no.” Cortana gasped, covering her mouth.

“The UNSC.” Thel said, his hands going into fists. “It makes too much sense.”

“It is incredibly hard for a Spartan to leave the service. I know of maybe two who have left alive and even then,” She shook her head. “But of course they wouldn’t want their best soldier yet to leave and ally himself with a potentially enemy force.” She continued, looking to him. He nodded in agreement. “A common human mentality. If they can’t have him, no one can.”

His eyes then widened in realization. “Caleb was a UNSC medic, do you think he would attempt to return Chief to them?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll need backup. If the UNSC finds out he’s alive and we try to take him back there may be another all out war. Not that we’ve even truly finished the first.”

He turned to Qaz, “Thank you for your help but I must return to Sanghelios for assistance.” 

“Arbiter helped Qaz. Qaz help Arbiter.” She responded, taking a hold of her partner’s hand, who nodded.

“Seems they’re also willing to help us fight for Chief.” Cortana smiled, “So let’s go to Sanghelios and get the rest of that back up.”

The Arbiter nodded, removing her from the terminal and heading back to the ship. Their destination, his home planet.

* * *

Their ships touched down and as expected a group of Sangheili soldiers stood at the base of the landing pad. Only calming once he emerged from his ship.

“The Arbiter has returned!” One declared and they all stood at attention.

Thel nodded his acknowledgment to them before turning to the squadron leader. “Where is Rtas? I must speak with him immediately.”

“The temporary Arbiter is waiting for you, we shall guide you.” The leader replied before barking out for the squad to lead the way.

The Arbiter and his posse followed close behind. He kept himself alert as there was still some civil unrest among his people, but it had mostly been resolved throughout the years. And they managed to make it to Rtas without incident.

“Rtas, my friend, I require your assistance.” The Arbiter spoke as he entered.

Rtas looked up and smiled. “Of course, anything for you. But first, I bring good news.” 

Cortana suddenly perked up, “John!” She interrupted, directing everyone’s attention toward the human entering the room.

Rtas indicated to the aforementioned man. “As I was saying, he’s come looking for you.”

John approached, relief evident in his motion as his partner ran to him. “Thel.”

“I was afraid you had perished. I do not know what I would do if that were true.” Thel gripped the humans shoulders, grounding himself in this reality before pulling his husband into an embrace.

John tensed involuntarily before settling his nerves and hugging back tightly.

“I want in on this.” Cortana pouted, before materializing into a semi physical form.

“What?” John questioned and pulled back enough to see. “Since when?”

“I was dying but your husband took a detour on our rescue mission for you, to save me. I upgraded myself with an alien artifact, and now I’m going to use it to hug my two emotionally constipated idiots.” She hastily explained before pulling them both in, sighing with relief.

“Can I get a hug?” A voice asked. “I helped too.”

The Arbiter turned to look, “Doctor Caleb, yes, thank you.” he chuckled, hesitantly pulling away from his current embrace to give the doctor a quick appreciative hug before resting his hand on the human’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” Caleb saluted, before indicating to the door. “Sorry about the interruption but my partners and I need to leave for a bit, errands to run, plenty more wounded out there in the universe. But we’ll be back, if we’re allowed.”

“Yes, you are always welcome here.” The Arbiter responded.

“Fantastic!” The medic gave him a thumbs up before turning to Chief. “Go get yourself some dick and stay safe. I’ve got an appointment to get one myself. Bye!” Caleb stuck out his hand to the other man, who rolled his eyes before high-fiving him. "Hell yeah!" He cheered, before waving to Cortana. "And goodbye blue lady I've never met."

She chuckled and waved back. "Bye, Caleb."

The human and his partners left, with Qaz and Que following along with their army, seeing no battle for them. Rtas looked after the retreating aliens before turning to the reunited husbands. 

"I shall take my leave as well. We shall catch up Arbiter, once you have properly reconciled." He said, before indicating for the remaining spectators to leave with him. Even Cortana disengaged herself, giving Master Chief and the Arbiter some alone time. 

Everything was silent. Going from overwhelming to nothing but them. 

"I'm not sure what to say." John said, taking a hold of his husband's hand. His grip firm, longing, expressing everything he couldn't speak.

"Nothing I could say would convey my relief, my longing, and my happiness for this moment." Thel responded in agreement, pulling the man close.

They both simultaneously sunk to the floor, clutching onto each other for dear life. Their arms held the other's body tightly, like they would never be let go, never released, never again so far apart. 

"You are here."

"I am."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are super appreciated, also if you like my writing I do occasionally post some of my original works on here :)

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think! Please! I do have at least two other fics planned with them (unrelated to this series), and potentially an OC fic or two, if you want it to happen comments are definitely encouraging!


End file.
